Editing Johnny Unitas (section)

====Super Bowls and final Colt years====
In the final game of the 1968 preseason, the muscles in Unitas's arm were torn when he was hit by a member of the Dallas Cowboys defense. Unitas wrote in his autobiography that he felt his arm was initially injured by the use of the "night ball" that the NFL was testing for better TV visibility during night games. In a post-game interview the previous year, he noted having constant pain in his elbow for several years prior.<ref name="SI-Maule" /> He would spend most of the season sitting on the bench. The Colts still marched to a league-best 13–1 record behind backup quarterback and ultimate 1968 NFL MVP [[Earl Morrall]]. Although he was injured through most of the season, Unitas came off the bench to play in [[Super Bowl III]], the famous game where [[Joe Namath]] guaranteed a [[New York Jets]] win despite conventional wisdom. Unitas's insertion was a desperation move in an attempt to retrieve dominance of the NFL over the upstart [[American Football League|AFL]]. Although the Colts won an [[1968 NFL Championship Game|NFL Championship in 1968]], they lost the Super Bowl to the AFL Champion New York Jets, thus becoming the first-ever NFL champions that were not also deemed world champions. Unitas helped put together the Colts' only score, a touchdown late in the game. Unitas also drove the Colts into scoring position following the touchdown and successful onside kick, but head coach Don Shula eschewed a field goal attempt, which (if successful) would have cut the Jets' lead to 16–10. Despite not playing until late in the third quarter, he still finished the game with more passing yards than the team's starter, Earl Morrall.

After an off-season of rehabilitation on his elbow, Unitas rebounded in 1969, passing for 2,342 yards and 12 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. But the Colts finished with a disappointing 8–5–1 record and missed the playoffs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/1969.htm|title=1969 Baltimore Colts Statistics & Players|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=March 29, 2018|archive-date=October 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022220058/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/1969.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1970, the NFL and AFL had merged into one league, and the Colts moved to the new [[American Football Conference]], along with the [[Cleveland Browns]] and the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]]. He threw for 2,213 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading the Colts to an 11–2–1 season. In their first rematch with the Jets, Unitas and Namath threw a combined nine interceptions in a 29–22 Colts win. Namath threw 62 passes and broke his hand on the final play of the game, ending his season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/1970.htm|title=1970 Baltimore Colts Statistics & Players|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=March 29, 2018|archive-date=September 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929182347/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/1970.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Unitas threw for 390 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in AFC playoff victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/U/UnitJo00.htm|title=Johnny Unitas Playoffs Game Log|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=March 29, 2018|archive-date=November 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115031638/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/U/UnitJo00.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Super Bowl V]] against the [[Dallas Cowboys]], he was knocked out of the game with a rib injury in the second quarter, soon after throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass (setting a then-Super Bowl record) to [[John Mackey (American football)|John Mackey]]. However, he had also thrown two interceptions before his departure from the game. [[Earl Morrall]] came in to lead the team to a last-second, 16–13 victory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197101170clt.htm|title=Super Bowl V – Dallas Cowboys vs. Baltimore Colts – January 17th, 1971|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=March 29, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143301/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197101170clt.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1971, Unitas split playing time with Morrall, throwing only three touchdown passes. He started both playoff games, a win over the Cleveland Browns that sent the Colts to the [[AFC Championship game]] against Don Shula and the [[Miami Dolphins]], which they lost by a score of 21–0. Unitas threw three interceptions in the game, one of which was returned for a touchdown by safety [[Dick Anderson]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Super Bowl V |url=https://www.lines.com/nfl/history-of-super-bowls/V |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=Lines.com}}</ref>

The 1972 season saw the Colts declining. After losing the season opener, Unitas was involved in the second and final regular season head-to-head meeting with "Broadway" Joe Namath. The first was in 1970 (won by the Colts, 29–22). The last meeting took place on September 24, 1972, at [[Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)|Memorial Stadium]]. He threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, but Namath upstaged him again, bombing the Colts for 496 yards and six touchdowns in a 44–34 Jets victory – their first over Baltimore since the 1970 merger.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1970/ |title=1970 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=October 11, 2012 |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520182608/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1970/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1971/ |title=1971 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=October 11, 2012 |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619205516/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1971/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After losing four of their first five games, the Colts fired head coach Don McCafferty, and benched Unitas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stellino |first=Vito |date=July 23, 1991 |title=49ers try to avoid half-baked turnover |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1991/07/23/49ers-try-to-avoid-half-baked-turnover/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=Baltimore Sun}}</ref>

One of the more memorable moments in football history came on Unitas's last game in a Colts uniform at Memorial Stadium, in a game against the [[Buffalo Bills]]. He was not the starter for this game, but the Colts were blowing the Bills out by a score of 28–0 behind [[Marty Domres]]; Unitas entered the game due to the fans chanting, "We want Unitas!!!", and a plan devised by head coach [[John Sandusky]] to convince Unitas that the starting quarterback was injured. Unitas came onto the field and threw two passes, one of which was a long touchdown to wide receiver [[Eddie Hinton (American football)|Eddie Hinton]] which would be his last pass as a Colt. The Colts won the game by a score of 35–7. A small plane flew over the stadium trailing a banner that read, “Unitas We Stand”.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sun |first=Baltimore |date=September 29, 1991 |title=MEMORIAL STADIUM: OUR COLTS |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1991/09/29/memorial-stadium-our-colts/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=Baltimore Sun}}</ref>